Ever visited somewhere for the day and been really disappointed?

[Summerhouse2013]

We travelled to Yeovil in Somerset yesterday for the day, wow, we were so disappointed.

It was like a ghost town. Most of the shops were shut, only a handful were open. And towards the bottom area of the town most of the shops were completely closed down.

I'd always got the impression there was a lot more to Yeovil.

We left after an hour as there was nothing to do.

Eden Project was s real disappointment, scruffy and over priced

Hay on Wye. It was tail end of covid but it just has such a dead, down and out vibe to the whole area

Paris wasn't as great as I envisaged, it felt quite grey and strangely dull in some respects

Whitby, had been looking forward to it for so long and it was nice, but not as nice as I had imagined and a bit grimy in places

Sydney, I can't really remember it much, the opera house was a bit meh and as a whole it just didn't impact me like I thought it would

Chessington
Bournemouth

But I went to Brighton and it really beat expectations. Loved it to the point where we were seriously searching for houses in Hove for a while.

Peterborough-it just smelled of farts

No, OP was asking for your personal impressions - not just what the local tourist-board slogan is

Versailles. Just awful, continuous queuing and shuffling around empty rooms in such a huge crowd that you can't actually see anything.

Oh and London zoo! In fact all zoos..

Cullen in Aberdeenshire was actually the worst!
Weird feel through out and couldn't wait to get out of there.
Antique shops didn't help with the stuff they had on sale.

Never again.

Noone except my DP agrees with me on this one but - Kew Gardens. Expensive, over-cultivated, and the kitchen garden was shut the last time I went (last summer, so well after COVID). The greenhouses are the best thing about it but there are too many wide, open lawns without any interest.

Agree re: the pyramids. The further south in Egypt you go the better it gets imo.

I went to a zoo recently and all it had was one dog.

Was going to ask about the Natural History Museum. DS really wants to go but it would be a long journey for us

Sandstone isn’t grey. The clue is in the name😀

It is. But it’s very very very busy. Booking an event is a good way of skipping the queue inside, but the dinosaurs is very busy. They do a sleep over which is well worth the money, you also get to walk round the museum before it opens.

the one in Oxford is brilliant as is the one in Tring (visit that just before closing as it’s also very busy). if your making a trip to Oxford there’s also a science centre you can book on a saturday, that’s worth doing as well.

It can absolutely be grey!

Ha, it's funny about Sculpture Park, because your description is exactly accurate, and yet I absolutely adore it 😂it's not even about the sculptures/gallery for me, it's the feel of the place. Something about the landscape there and the roaming cows and sheep make me feel so peaceful. Love having so much open countryside space to wander around freely. Coming across a weird sculpture adds to the magic for me but I'm definitely not a cultured art aficionado 😄

Totally agree about Kew Gardens.

That was never going to be glam and interesting. My DH used to live there. Best he had to say was “nice pub”

🤣 pun aside, I agree! Was very much, 'is this it?'

Also, Rio De Janeiro... what a dump!

I’m reading through this thread thinking that I like most of these.

Love the Eden Project and don’t agree that it’s like a garden centre. What garden centres do people go to where they can see plants from all over the world, and learn about the growing of food? We’ve been twice as a family and stayed all day both times.

Warwick Castle - if you go with the mindset that it’s an attraction rather than a historic visit, it’s great fun (again been twice). Loved the bird demonstration and DD became obsessed with the War of the Roses after seeing the joust. And the trebuchet is cool.

The Deep - I agree this is an acquired taste, but we loved the food from the cafe and it is what you make it.

I agree about Bath through. Very disappointing.

I love the NHM! I think the trick is to get a timed ticket for as soon as it opens and see the dinosaurs first before the huge queue builds up, then leave before it gets mega busy. The building itself is beautiful. I agree some of the exhibits are looking a bit tired - they hadn’t changed much since I was a child and I’m nearly 50.
The free museums are an amazing resource - also love the V&A and the British museum (another amazing building) The Science museum is great but always far too busy.

Rothesay for me.....always seems to be shut!

A dog! You were lucky! I went to a so-called 'zoo' once and all they had was a stuffed lemur and two wasps, and between you and me, I think the wasps had just flown in and weren't actually part of the zoo at all.

Brighton - I don't like it. Repeat visits have only reinforced my dislike. I feel very cramped and squashed there. Its the only place I have ever been that makes me feel angry. Funny place.

Stonehenge. Absolutely perishing cold, so far away from the stones.

Preach 🙌

I can't believe someone has said that Chester isn't pretty or historical!